Best-Performing Cities China 2023–2024: The Nation’s Most Successful Economies aims to provide businesses, investors, policymakers, and many others with a tool for better understanding and evaluation of the economic development of China’s cities and regions to guide decision-making. This study uses the latest official annual data to assess the economic performance of cities in China that are at or above the prefecture level. It sorts 250 Chinese cities into two groups: (1) the largest-cities group, with 33 first- and second-tier cities, and (2) the small- and medium-sized group, with 217 third-tier cities. The two groups are ranked separately based on economic performance.

This report reviews China’s recent economic conditions, describes three key determinants that have driven China’s regional economic development in the past decade or so, and focuses on the top 10 ranked large and small cities. The Appendix presents full ranking tables and more details on data and methods for this ranking report.